Today’s post is a repost from 2017 just because I needed to be reminded of what I wrote and still need to be mindful of.

Sand burrs are the worst.

If you have ever encountered a sand burr at the beach you can most certainly identify with me.

This week as I enjoyed some of the most wonderful days of October at my happy place known as “any beach I am visiting” I encountered that invasive pest.  The sand burr is one of those things that you don’t realize is there until you walk barefoot.

The spiky pointy edges of the burr attach themselves willy nilly to clothing and bare feet in my case and can make a grown woman tear up before it is extracted.  It is a nuisance.

It is one of those things that makes me wonder why God thought they should exist.

But aren’t there a lot of things that “we” wonder why God allows them in our world?

Hate and racism.

Narrow mindedness.

Bullying.

Ugly words.

Pride.

Lying.

Willingly doing evil.

Lying about someone else to the point of causing them harm.

Stirring up discord.

Now those are all things that seem much worse than a sand burr, don’t they?

A sand burr is an irritant without a doubt but once it is removed it is gone.  Even if the skin has been punctured there is no long lasting effect once it has healed.  It becomes a distant memory and life goes on.

But those other things?  Not so much.  The effects of hate and racism, bullying and lying go on and on.   They feed upon themselves and oftentimes the feelings and actions get multiplied when others observe and join in.

I am not a theologian but I do know that we do not live in a perfect world.  That choice was made long ago and somehow we have to figure out how to live in a world where there is evil and ugliness.

As a Christian I strive to live each day in a Christ like manner.  Some days are much better than others.  It is easy to live a “good ” life when I am surrounded by wonderful things and wonderful people.  God asks more of me than to just be good.

So today I am going to strive to do more than just be good.  I am going to live like God wants me to live.  I am going to fight against all of those things that He hates.  I am going to stand up for the bullied, the underdog and the maligned.  I am going to be bigger than the evil that is in the world.

I am going to embrace all of the things that make me uncomfortable and address them. I am going to stand strong in the face of evil. Maybe, just maybe, I can remove a single sand burr that will hurt someone else in some way.